Illinois getting pumped up for tough season opener against Missouri

John Supinie

Friday

Aug 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMAug 31, 2007 at 2:08 AM

Editor's note: In preview capsule, radio network needs updated with local station. Betting line must be inserted

ST. LOUIS -- Illinois junior linebacker Brit Miller spent an afternoon four years ago in the mezzanine level watching the Illinois-Missouri football game at the Edward Jones Dome. During the Illinois loss, Miller and his friends feasted on free food.

"It was real fancy,'' said Miller, the Decatur native. "A guy like me doesn't get to do that too much. It was set up like a wedding or something.''

When Illinois opens the season today against Missouri here in the dome, the Illini hope it's a coming-out party for a program that won eight games combined over the past four seasons. But the Tigers, picked to win the Big 12 Conference's north division, stand as the toughest hurdle in non-conference play in an ambitious schedule for the rebuilding program.

Instead of playing a Division I-AA team plus three Mid-American Conference opponents in the non-conference season (i.e., Indiana) or two MAC programs, a Division I-AA and Florida Atlantic (i.e., Minnesota), the Illini play two BCS conference opponents away from home among the four games outside the league.

Missouri played in bowl games in three of the last four seasons under coach Gary Pinkel.

"It's a better opportunity for us to show what type of team we're becoming,'' Miller said. "We're playing on national TV. It's a story line setting up well for us. We go out there, get a victory on national TV. Everybody sees what we're working on for the past two years. We can kind of see the ball rolling if we get this first one.''

Yes, but when you add games later this season against No. 5 Michigan, No. 7 Wisconsin, No. 11 Ohio State and No. 17 Penn State -- the Big Ten's top four rated teams -- it makes it hard for a program shooting for its first bowl berth since 2001. The preseason hype is over. Let the games begin.

"I probably wouldn't have picked this opener,'' Illinois coach Ron Zook said. "But I think it's still great for us. It forced us to have a little better camp. We'll find out right now what kind of team we are and how much further we have to go.''

Illinois dropped the first two meetings with Missouri at the dome in 2002 and 2003. In the first game, the Illini were coming off an outright Big Ten title and an appearance in the Sugar Bowl, but the Illini lost 33-20. Illinois fell 22-15 the following year.

The season-opening rivalry is "really a high level experience,'' Pinkel said. "It's like a bowl game atmosphere. We felt it was good.''

The game pits Missouri's spread offense against Illinois' defense that ranked No. 5 in the Big Ten last season, but Illinois had trouble against spreads from Purdue and Indiana last fall.

Missouri ranked No. 8 nationally in total offense last year (425.6 yards per game). Players who accounted for 98 percent of the total yards returned this year.

Junior quarterback Chase Daniel threw for 3,527 yards (1,064 more than the previous school record) and ranked No. 5 nationally in total offense (300.5 yards per game). Senior running back Tony Temple ranked second in the Big 12 last season by averaging 81.8 yards per game.

"We open against a team that played in a bowl last year,'' Zook said. "Over 90 percent of their rushing, passing and scoring is back. My biggest concern is that explosive offense. They can score any place on the field. They kind of wait for the defense to make a mistake. It's a big challenge for our defense.''

Meanwhile, Missouri must stop the run, something the Tigers struggled with last season. The Tigers allowed 184.1 yards rushing per game in Big 12 play to rank 11th in the league. The top three tacklers from last season are gone. The Illini led the Big Ten by averaging 188.8 yards rushing.

"When you have to play a team that was No. 1 in the Big Ten and top 10 in the nation, it's going to be a challenge making them throw the ball,'' said Missouri senior safety Pig Brown.

Illinois' schedule is all about challenges.

John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com.

Preview Capsule

Illinois (0-0) vs. Missouri (0-0)

When: 2:30 p.m. today

Where: Edward Jones Dome (66,000), St. Louis

Series record: Missouri leads 13-7

Last meeting: Missouri 22-15 (2003)

Rankings: both teams unranked

Radio: Illini Sports Network

TV: ESPN2

The line:

Coaches: Ron Zook, 4-19 in third season at Illinois, 27-33 in seventh year overall; Gary Pinkel, 37-35 in seventh year at Missouri, 110-72-3 in 17th year overall.

Notable: The Illini are 74-38-5 in seasons openers but 0-3 when playing in a neutral site. The Illini lost their last seven games played in domed stadiums, dating back to a 21-17 win at Minnesota in 1994. . . Illinois running back Rashard Mendenhall needs 142 yards to reach 1,000 for his career. Illinois senior linebacker J Leman ranked third nationally with 152 tackles last season. With 275 in his career, he needs 68 tackles to move into Illinois' top 10 all-time. . . Illinois ranked No. 117 in net punt (29.4) and turnover margin (minus 1.25) last season. . . Martin Rucker's 119 catches and 1,341 yards receiving are school bests for a Missouri tight end. . . Tigers placekicker Jeff Wolfert was 18-for-20 on field-goal attempts and made all 45 extra points last season. . . Zook (Miami of Ohio) and Pinkel (Kent State) played against each other during their college days. . .

Quotable: "They run him a little bit. That bodes well for us. We like to get hits on the quarterback. If they're going to give them to us for free, we'll take them.'' -- Illinois linebacker Brit Miller, on mobile Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel.

Prediction: Missouri 30, Illinois 23

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